Thursday, September 20, 2007

These past weeks I've been devouring lots of Japanese manga. The stories are lush and the artwork is inspiring. Turns out that I happened to be reading two of the greats of the manga genre – Osamu Tezuka and Yoshihiro Tatsumi.

[Page from Ode to Kirihito]

Osamu Tezuka. has been refered to as the "God of Manga" or the Japanese Walt Disney. He left a large impression on the manga genre and is also credited with creating anime with Astro Boy as his most famous creation. His stories are in depth, engaging and have a bit of slapstick to them. Recommend reading: Ode to Kirihito and his Buddha series that stretches over eight books.

[Page from The Push Man & Other Stories book]

Yoshihiro Tatsumi has been called the grandfather of alternative manga for the adult reader. His books are seeped in adult situations and tend to be vividly real and often dark. His stories are similar to the American graphic novels we see so popular today yet his predate these novels by 30 years. Recommended reading: The Push Man & Other Stories and Abandon The Old In Tokyo.